Laughing Gods
by lazerbear7
Summary: The tides of the warp twist and churn, finding their way to distant worlds, and working to infect their inhabitants with the taint of Chaos. When the winds of change blow towards Remnant, who will have the strength to endure, and who will become the playthings of the laughing gods? Warhammer crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Qrow groaned as he unscrewed his flask. While his perch at the top of his tree offered a good view of the surrounding landscape, observation was painfully dull, made much worse from the grey overcast. He did his best to keep his wits about him, but that was far easier said than done.

Grimm in the area had been reported showing odd behavior, roaming in strange patterns, even double backing on their tracks instead of gravitating towards nearby settlements. They weren't close enough to be considered threats to the settlements, and Qrow had been ordered to standby until they were. While that time did seem to be steadily approaching, the Grimm were obviously in no hurry.

Qrow had noticed some of the strange behavior he'd been told to keep an eye out for. A few of the beowolves seemed disoriented, while others strayed from the pack, only catching up an hour or two later. This made it hard to get an accurate head count, but Qrow wouldn't put them at any more than twenty.

He watched as the pack passed below his perch. A few scraped against the trunk of the tree, taking a good portion of the bark off with their spikes of bone as they walked. Qrow took a swig, before pocketing the flask again and sitting on his heels. They were going the right way, towards a small town nearby. If they kept up the pace, he'd be able to take them out in just a few hours. That time couldn't come soon enough.

He straightened up, walking along the branch to keep pace with the Grimm, before realizing that they were starting to slow down again. He kept going, hopeful that they would speed up again, then pinched the bridge of his nose as the pack came to a complete stop.

"No, you stupid sacks of shi-"

He was cut off by a series of growls from below, and his hand flew to the handle of his blade. Before he drew it however, he peered down at the group, looking to see which ones had already seen him.

None seemed to be looking at him. In fact, none seemed even vaguely aware of his presence. They weren't growling at him, they had all turned on one member of the pack as it put its back against the tree.

Qrow walked quietly back to the trunk of the tree, drawing his weapon quietly and keeping it ready. He'd never seen Grimm do anything like this before. They barely even communicated with each other, whatever this was didn't make sense.

Any further thought was cut off as the beowolf being surrounded suddenly lashed out at the closest member of its pack. Claws cut deep into the beowolf's neck, and it stumbled back. The reaction from the rest of the pack was nearly instant. They fell on the cornered Grimm without hesitation, and Qrow felt somewhat glad that their victim was nearly buried by the attackers. Chunks of flesh and bone were thrown from the scrap, and after only a few seconds of snarling and growling, the pack split up again, leaving almost nothing behind of their previous packmate.

Qrow couldn't do anything but stare as the Grimm continued on their way, the wounded beowolf trailing behind but following nonetheless. Grimm didn't fight Grimm. At least, they weren't supposed to. He'd never seen a display like that. He doubted anyone had ever seen a display like that.

His nerves prickled, and he felt his stomach turn violently. He doubled over, overcome by a feeling of vertigo, and reached out to grab the branch for dear life. His ears started to ring, and his sense of balance went haywire, only his grip on the branch keeping him standing. It wasn't sunlight.

A sickly purple glow seemed to descend from above, rushing towards the ground at incredible speed. Tendrils seemed to spread from it, reaching out, before it swallowed everything. Qrow couldn't help but cry out. Whether it was a cry of panic, rage, fear, or something else entirely, Qrow himself didn't know. He could only cling to his branch as the light bore down.

Qrow's knuckles went white and splinters dug under his fingernails as the light engulfed everything. A strange tugging on his mind made him go cold for a moment, before being replaced with a burning in his skull, then a flash of nausea that made him think his guts were crawling. After this, his mind started spinning, seeming to hit every feeling he could imagine. He could barely open his eyes, but when he did, everything was bathed in this sickly light. He saw figures all around, flickering in and out of existence, and countless voices whispered from everywhere around him, even inside of his head.

Then it was gone. The only sound Qrow could hear was his own gasping for air. He felt like he was choking, but he didn't want to breathe. With bleary vision, he looked for the Grimm he had been following. As he continued coming to his senses, he saw the beowolves scratching at the trunk of the tree, growling and howling promises to tear him to shreds just like they had their packmate. Out of their reach for the moment, Qrow took a moment to steady himself. He needed to keep his head on straight. Something happened, and he needed to get in contact with Ozpin again. First, the Grimm had to be dealt with.

His weapon had slipped from his hand at some point, and he spied it caught in the branches near the middle of the tree. Getting it would be easy enough, and assuming the Grimm had no further surprises in store, they wouldn't be a problem either. Now was no time to get cocky, however. He'd take as much time as he needed. Taking another moment to assess his balance, he started climbing down, eager to find out if Ozpin was as clueless as him.

* * *

Ruby came to, pulling her fingers out of the mattress and looking around, confused. She'd been sitting, reading, and then. . .

Yang burst through the door to her room in a frenzy, whispering to herself under her breath. When she saw Ruby halfway through her mattress, she seemed to calm down, coming to sit on the edge of the bed, putting a hand on Ruby's back.

"Are you alright?"

Ruby started to answer, but coughed as she realized her mouth was full of fabric. She sputtered and scraped her mouth out, trying to remember why she'd apparently tried to eat her mattress.

"I. . . I think so. I don't know what I was just doing. What happened?"

Yang put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"You really don't remember? I thought I heard you screaming." She shook her head, rubbing her temple. "Whatever, I guess it's good that you don't remember. I heard some weird things, fuzzy voices, they, uh, made me kind of mad."

"Like 'you flicked a cigarette at me' mad, or 'you touched my hair' mad?" Ruby asked.

Yang shook her head, laughing to herself. "More like 'gave me a surprise buzz-cut in my sleep' mad. There really isn't much of that wall left."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, asking, "Really? What happened to all of us?"

Yang let out a long sigh, before she shrugged, standing up and walking over to the window. "I don't know what it was, but something made us. . . go a little crazy, I guess. I mean, you started eating your bed, The hotel is going the be furious when they see what I did to my room, Weiss started singing at the top of her lungs, it was. . ." Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. "I don't know what to say." She continued staring out the window, and Ruby noticed some of the color returning to her face. "The only thing I'm really sure of is that it was purple." She turned back to Ruby, a small smile crossing her face. " How'd the bed taste, by the way? You've got scraps of it all over you."

Ruby blinked, her hand moving to wipe away any remains of the mattress. A few blurry images entered her mind, all of them attacking the bed like a ravenous dog. She couldn't comprehend why, but for some reason the bed had seemed like it would taste delicious, despite how bizarre that sounded.

The streets of Mistral were cluttered, with both trash and people, more than Ruby had ever seen it before. Most of the people seemed to be coming out of whatever trance had taken Ruby and Yang, clutching their heads or staggering around as they tried to get their bearings. Some still seemed to have their grip on reality loosened, as they had conversations with people who weren't there, or played with the trash in the streets. Some people were sprawled out on the ground, and Ruby couldn't tell if they were injured, or worse.

"Yang, we need to go help them! Come on, let's find the others, people need us!"

She grabbed Yang's shoulder and started to move towards the door, but Yang was slow to respond.

"Just watch how you approach Ruby, some of them might not have snapped out of it yet. You didn't see what I did to the wall, and someone might try doing the same thing to you."

Ruby nodded, and entered the hall outside her room. It wasn't in quite as much disarray as the street, but there were paintings knocked off the walls and glass all over the floor. Ruby found it difficult to remember whose rooms were where, but she was fairly sure Weiss's was the closest. When she opened the door, she found her friend standing in the corner of the room, humming to herself. Ruby looked back at Yang questioningly, but her sister only shrugged in response. With cautious steps, Ruby approached her friend, saying uncertainly, "hey, Weiss, are you alright? You, um, sound really pretty."

Weiss didn't respond, and Ruby gave a quick glance around the room. She didn't see Myrtenaster at Weiss's side, but she'd rather be safe than sorry. It was a relief to find the blade leaning against the wall next to the door, well out of Weiss's reach.

With a little more confidence, Ruby stepped forward and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Weiss, can you hear me?"

If she did, she gave no indication of it. Ruby pulled her shoulder, turning her around, and said louder, "Weiss! Hey!"

For a few moments, Weiss continued to hum, her eyes unfocused like she was looking at something past Ruby, far beyond the walls of the room. Gradually, though, her focus shifted to Ruby, and after blinking a few times, her brow furrowed, and she said "What are you doing here? I thought-"

Yang spoke from the doorway, cutting Weiss off. "Whatever it was, it wasn't real. You sounded good, though."

Ruby pointed over her shoulder, saying sternly, "Come on, we need to find Blake, then get out on the streets. Whatever happened hit a lot of other people in the city too. Do you think you're good to go?"

Weiss took a moment to rub her eyes, look herself over, then nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

Ruby smiled and nodded, before turning to leave. Yang slapped her on the back as she left, and she said, "Well handled, sis. Think Blake will be as easy to handle?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? I hope so. How are you feeling, Weiss?"

Weiss let out a breath before replying, "I don't know. I was looking over something on my scroll, then I was in a concert hall, giving a performance. It was so strange, though, everyone in the audience was Whitley, save my father in his balcony, and this giant bird on the opposite balcony. Did you guys have anything like that happen to you?"

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but Yang spoke before she could. "I wrecked up my room, and Ruby tried to eat her bed. I don't know about Ruby, but I didn't really see anything."

Weiss looked to Ruby, shocked. "You did what? Why?"

Ruby felt her cheeks turn red, and she said "Oh come on, that's not fair! None of us know what happened, so can we please hold off on making fun of each other over it?"

Yang snorted with laughter, and Weiss rolled her eyes. As they came to Blake's room, Ruby held up a hand to silence her companions. The door was ajar, and as Ruby pushed it open, she was pleased to find that Blake's room didn't seem to be in any state of disarray. Everything was about as neatly laid out as Blake always had it, the only thing missing was the girl herself.

Ruby motioned for the others to follow her in. as they stepped in, Weiss asked "What's the matter? She's not here?" Ruby shook her head, and Weiss pointed to the window behind her. "The window is open. She could have left through there."

The window hung wide open, leading out into a cramped looking alleyway. Ruby leaned out, looking around. The window was one story off the ground, but that would mean nothing to someone as agile as Blake. She put her hands on the windowsill, getting ready to pull herself over, when a thought occurred to her.

"Do either of you see Gambol Shroud anywhere?"

Weiss and Yang looked at each other for a moment, their eyes going wide, before starting to turn the room upside down looking for it. "She doesn't normally hide it, right?" Ruby asked, not sure what answer she was hoping for.

Yang shook her head as she threw open a few drawers. "No, not unless she's expecting something."

A sense of dread hit Ruby, and she turned back to the window. "Then come on," she said over her shoulder, "we've got to find her before anything happens!"

Weiss and Yang joined her at the window, and she dropped down to the alley below. The others followed, one after the other, and they took stock of the alley. It was mostly empty, there were a few scraps of trash here and there, but it was vacant of any people. The regular buzz of the city around them was almost entirely gone, none of the otherwise almost constant murmur of conversations or shuffling of feet. Even the air had a strange tinge to it, though Ruby couldn't place the scent.

The alley continued on towards a usually busy city street, and while they could see a few people stumbling around in various states of confusion. They didn't look too injured, and as the group drew closer, they seemed to be mostly recovered with nothing more than a few hands holding heads as they talked to each other about what had happened.

"Excuse me," Ruby said to the closest person, a short, stocky man in his twenties, "did you see a faunus come through here? Black hair, cat ears, white coat, probably had a weapon on her belt?"

He scratched the back of his head, thinking for a moment, before nodding slowly. "I think so. It's hard to remember, but that definitely rings a bell." The man looked up and down the street, hissing through his teeth as he tried to think. "I think she went north" he pointed up the street, "but I'm not sure. Sorry, I just-"

Ruby shook her head, saying, "Don't worry about it. Thanks for the help!" She then turned to her teammates, motioning for them to follow again.

Walking past the people on the street was a strange experience. They couldn't help but overhear fragments of conversations as they went by, and by the sounds of things, everyone had had experiences just as bizarre as theirs. Ruby heard one man say something about "shadows leaping off of the ground," and a woman almost toppled over, shouting "because I almost blinded myself!" before she quieted herself down, glancing around, hoping that no one had noticed. Yang snorted as they got out of earshot, and Ruby heard her grunt as Weiss elbowed her in the ribs.

It wasn't long before Weiss stopped, pointing down an vacant-looking sidestreet. "Isn't that her, over there?" The group stopped, and turned to follow her finger. It was Blake, but she wasn't looking at them. She was facing the side, with her hands in front of her, like she was trying to show they were empty. On the ground behind her, Gambol Shroud lay discarded. Ruby could see her talking, but it was too quiet to hear.

"Is she still out of it?" Yang asked, squinting. They started approaching at a walk, Weiss replying, "It doesn't look like it. It looks like she's talking to someone. Why's her weapon on the ground, though? Do you think she hurt-"

She stopped, as from around the corner, a bloody hand waved in Blake's direction. Even from this distance, they could see flecks of blood spatter across her coat and face. They stopped, and Ruby's jaw fell open. "No. No no no, Blake-"

They started running. Blake flinched and stepped back from whoever was around the corner, wiping her face and continuing to speak. Ruby called out, shouting, "Blake! Stop!"

Putting in a final burst of speed using her semblance, Ruby felt her feet leave the ground as she dove towards her teammate. Blake's head jerked to the side as she saw the rest of her team coming, and she put up a hand, saying "Wait!" just before Ruby tackled her to the ground.

Immediately, she started trying to push Ruby off, saying, "No, you don't understand! It's him!"

Through the struggling, Ruby looked up at who Blake was talking to. She froze the moment she saw him. Blood trickled down a bare chest, where the man had something carved into his flesh. Ruby couldn't do anything but stare, as her brain tried to interpret what she was seeing correctly.

It looked like a bird, wings spread to the man's shoulders, and made from harshly straight lines. The most striking feature of the symbol was the fact that the bird had two heads, looking each way. The exact shape of the symbol was hard to see through the trials of blood, but its wide wingspan, along with its sharp looking talons, gave Ruby the sense that it was supposed to be an eagle. Blood soaked the man's pants, and a small puddle was starting to form in the cracks of the cobbled street. A metallic glint from the man's right hand caught Ruby's eye, and she dragged her attention away from the disturbing display on his chest to find a bloodied knife clutched between shaking fingers. The same symbol on his chest appeared in smaller forms all over his body, from his arms to his calves, all dried and scared by time.

As she stared, the man's mouth twisted into a ghoulish grin, and he pointed to her. "You too, girl. You'll burn with the rest, when the world ends. You'll be stoking the fire."

Blake finished disentangling herself from the unresponsive Ruby, standing up and raising a hand to stop her other teammates. "Guys, stay back." Her harsh tone softened as she turned back to the man, and she said, "please, just give me the knife. I don't want to hurt you. I won't. You just have to trust me."

He looked back to Blake, grin turning to a sneer. "Trust? Didn't you hear them? There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods. I won't be their pawn!"

With that, the knife began to shake in his hand again, and he held it out in front of him. The tip of the blade pressed against the center of his chest. Blake reached out towards him, shouting, "No!" as he pressed the point into his flesh. His eyes closed, and Ruby could see his arms tense in preparation for one final push.

A grunt of exertion from her side made Ruby jump, and before she could react, Yang came flying in from her peripheral vision, one arm cocked back for a strike. Her knuckles connected with the man's cheekbone, and he was knocked sprawling like a ragdoll. The knife remained in his hand, however, and a heartbeat after he came to a stop, he was struggling back to his feet. Yang was already advancing on him, Blake right behind her. He pulled the knife up before making a quick swipe at Yang, who made to duck under the blade. She seemed to misjudge the distance ever so slightly, however, and the knife managed to nick her left cheek.

That didn't stop her, of course, and once she evaded the main force of the attack, she straightened up again, bringing an uppercut squarely into the man's chin. His head jerked upwards, and he slowly toppled back, hitting the street with a dull thud.

Yang stood over him for a few moments, waiting to see if he would try to get up again. When it was clear he had been knocked out cold, she bent down and picked the knife out of his hand.

"That was a close one, huh?" she said as she handed the knife off to Blake and holding a hand out to Ruby. As she helped her sister to her feet, Blake replied, saying, "Yeah. If you guys hadn't shown up, I think he really would have. . ." Her voice trailed off, and Ruby only now noticed how pale she looked, even more so than usual. She looked down at the knife, unsure what to do with it, before turning and picking up Gambol Shroud and placing it on her back.

Weiss rejoined the group, eyeing the man on the ground with some trepidation. "Who is he? We should get him to a hospital."

Ruby, glad for an excuse to look away from him, started to go through their immediate surroundings. "Do you see anything we could make a stretcher with? I don't think carrying him would be a good idea."

The group set about building a stretcher, while Blake bound the man up, ensuring that if he woke up, he wouldn't be able to hurt himself, or anyone else. It didn't take long to find the materials to pull one together, and the man didn't wake up until after they got him onto the stretcher, where he was tied to the stretcher itself. The group was quick to get him to the closest hospital, where they found that it was far busier than usual. As they got someone from inside to explain the situation to, Ruby took a peek in the waiting room. Most of the injuries were fairly superficial, bad scrapes and burns, but nothing life-threatening.

Ruby tried asking a few of the people around what was going on, but she only received shrugs and "I don't know"s from those she asked. Behind her a doctor cleared his throat to get her attention.

"You are Miss Rose correct? Leader of the team that brought the man on the stretcher in correct?"

"Yes. Is he going to be ok? He's not going to die, right?"

He waved his hand in front of his face reassuringly as he explained, "He'll be fine, just some blood loss, no actual permanent damage to his body besides the cuts he made, but those will simply scar up in a few weeks. I actually just need you to sign these papers here." He then presented her with a clipboard.

A few initials and a signature satisfied the doctor and he went on his way, leaving Ruby alone in the waiting room. She took a moment to appreciate that it seemed like the man they found got it worst, everyone else seemed fine, before taking her leave.

"How you doing, pipsqueak?" Ruby turned to find Qrow leaning against the wall, arms crossed and flask in-hand.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby practically shouted, spinning on her heels to rush him, bringing him into a hug.

"Been awhile since your last trip to Mistral. About two years, right?" He commented, patting the top of her head, signalling to release him. "Can't say I really remember much of it. I guess dying of poisoning will do that too you." He held up the flask. "Not that I'm not used to it."

"It's so good to see you again! Are you alright? What's going on? Does this have something to do with Sal-"

Qrow leaned down, placing a finger against his lips, remained silent for a moment, then said, "How about we get your team first. I'll explain then." He put his hand on the young women's shoulder to lead her to the rest of her team.

* * *

Author's note:

I haven't posted anything in like a year, but I'm back from the dead. Leave a review and tell me what you think of this story I'm bringing with me!

Thanks Leivve for helping out with this.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright," Qrow looked over his shoulder, ensuring that no one had followed them as they walked back into Ruby's room. Qrow waited until everyone was inside before shutting the door and locking it. "Well I'm just about as surprised as you are by this, but I gave Oz a call. Evidently he's had people keeping track of some kind of 'anomaly' out in space for a week or two. Why he thought that was worth the time, I really can't say, but apparently he was right to. Whatever 'it' is, it's got arms, kind of like a hurricane. What happened today was the result of a splinter of those arms. Just a small bit of whatever's out there, and, well. . ." his voice trailed off, and he gestured to Ruby's bed. ". . . that's what happens."

He looked around at the stunned faces, a smirk sliding across his face. "Yeah, it's no mythical Maidens and shadowy cabals, but we're obviously going to need some way to deal with it. Oz is meeting up with everyone he can pull to try and figure out a way to handle the situation, and he wants everybody he can get who could offer some insight. So, you girls got anything?"

"Weiss," Ruby said, looking to her partner sitting elegantly in the seat across from her, "You said you were seeing a theatre, right?"

"Yes. . .?" Weiss replied uncertainly.

"And when I was hallucinating, I think I thought that my bed tasted really good." She scratched her head, puzzled, trying to sort out the memories. "I don't know if it did. I don't think so. It definitely didn't after I came out of it, that's for sure."

"At least you guys remember," Yang piped in from the corner of the room, "I just remember whispers. I don't know what they said, everything just kind of turned into a blur. The next thing I knew I was coming out of it, and went to check on Ruby."

The three of them looked over to Blake, who averted her gaze. "I. . . I saw my family, and Adam, and the White Fang, and. . ." she trailed off, looking around at the others defensively. "It's not important! I know I didn't do anything other than wander around, so what does it matter?"

Qrow sat on the edge of Ruby's bed, holding up a hand. "Calm down, kid. We all make bad decisions when we're young. It doesn't stop with age either by the way, so have fun with that. Anyways, Oz says that he's more concerned with the concrete aspects of people's hallucinations. So what you did, rather than what you saw." He leaned forward, "So to recap, one started singing, one started walking, Ruby ate her bed, and Yang doesn't remember. That catch everything?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow and looked over to Yang. "You said you wrecked your room, right?"

Yang hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, well, my room got really messed up, I don't really know for sure that I did it. I mean, I don't know who else would've but-"

Qrow's head tilted to the side slightly, and he squinted at Yang for a moment before speaking. "You're bleeding." He gestured to her face. "Got a cut there on your cheek. That crazy in the alley give you a fight?"

She wiped the blood trickling slowly from the wound, looking confused. "That's weird. I would've thought that it would heal by now. But why did it cut me at all? My aura should've. . ."

"Should've protected you, right? This guy didn't get the jump on you or anything? Nothing strange about the knife?"

She shook her head as Ruby started rifling through her bag, returning with a band-aid and handing it to her sister. She couldn't help but smirk as Ruby held it out to her, laughing when Ruby said, irritated, "What? Take it!"

Yang turned back to Qrow as she stuck it to her cheek. "No, I knew he was there, and the knife was just a plain old knife. I don't know what happened."

Qrow nodded. "Yeah, Oz said other people were reporting something similar. Said it's too early to come to any conclusions, though. For now, just be more careful."

He leaned back, reaching for his flask. "Anyways, as you can imagine, this puts the whole Grimm thing on the backburner for awhile. I don't think anyone will care if they're walking zigzags or getting lost. For now, let's just try to make sure everyone keeps their head on straight until Oz says otherwise. Everyone agreed?"

They nodded, and Qrow stood. "Good. Now, any of you ever do this kind of peacekeeping thing before?" They shook their heads. "Right, well, it's real simple. Just be around, keeping an eye on things. Make sure people know you're there. Get involved in anything you think might get out of hand, and stop it before that happens. Usually there are better things for Hunters to do, but I think everyone would appreciate seeing some authority around. Just don't tell them you haven't graduated yet. People tend to respond better to 'hunters,' than 'hunters-in-training,' even if you are seniors. Most of you can probably pass for graduates." He looked at Ruby. "So long as Pipsqueak doesn't give you away."

Ruby glared for a moment, before she shook her head, saying "What about you? Wouldn't you make a lot more of an impact?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow, saying, "You calling me old, kid? Watch out, you'll look like me before you know it. Maybe not exactly, but everyone gets old." He shrugged. "Anyways, I've never done well with missions like this, given the whole 'bad luck' thing. Best for everyone if I'm not stuck hanging around, you know." He leaned forward again, and his tone became more serious. "That does mean that I'm putting an awful lot of trust in you lot, though, so don't mess this up. Think you can handle that?"

Ruby nodded vigorously, saying, "Of course! We can do that!"

Qrow smiled. "Good. There'll probably be a lot of folks in Mistral looking to make whatever they can from this, so watch yourselves. I'll be around, so if you find anything big, give me a call."

With that, he pushed himself off the bed, and started walking towards the door. "If I hear anything else from Oz, you kids will be the first to know. Oh, and while I did say the whole Salem thing was on the backburner, if you do happen to find anything that helps uncover what she's up to. We still haven't got much idea of what she's planning for Haven Academy, and its been almost two years since Beacon. She's got to have something nasty in store by now, and I'll bet things have got a little shaken up with what's happened. Catching some of her rats out of their hidey-holes would make everyone a little more comfortable."

With that, he left, closing the door behind him. Team RWBY was left to look around at each other, uncertain about what to do next.

"Well," Ruby said, "I guess we should get on that. Splitting up to cover more ground is the best thing to do, I think. Just have your scrolls on you at all times, and call for help if you see anything happening. Agreed?"

They nodded, and Ruby picked Crescent Rose off the ground. "Good. Everyone meet back here this evening, and we'll see if we found anything suspicious."

They nodded again, and went to their rooms to retrieve their own weapons and scrolls. As they filed out the doors, Ruby stopped a moment to look out over the city. Mistral was big, and from their hotel they could see over a large portion of the city. A few thin plumes of smoke wound their way lazily through the air as firefighters battled to snuff out the last remains of fires brought on by those the hallucinations had hit the hardest. Even though the fires were well under control, she felt a sense of unease. Something in the air still wasn't right. It wasn't the smoke, or the smell of the city, or any other sense she could name. It simply felt _wrong_.

She tried her best to brush it off, and walked out into the city, trying to think of the best way to get people to notice her.

* * *

Yang walked slowly through the disordered rows of small market buildings. They'd been in Mistral for a few days already, and she still wasn't quite used to the atmosphere. Buildings were scattered around, divided by bridges between cliff outcroppings, and seemed to be stacked on top of each other like a child's wooden blocks. It was a far cry from the neatly ordered streets of Vale, but it was sort of cute, in a way.

In the hours since the 'wave,' as she'd heard a group call it, hit, people had been much more insular than normal, staying out of the streets and glaring at anyone who was out suspiciously. As the day went on, however, this passed. Gradually, things worked their way back to normalcy. Yang noticed, however, that many people still seemed on-edge, frequently glancing up to the sky, or jumping at unexpected noises.

When she saw this kind of behavior, she was quick to try and engage them in conversation, asking about mundane little things, like what could be found in certain shops, if they could recommend any restaurants nearby, or even if the weather was always as overcast as it was today. These topics usually did a good enough job of drawing these people out of their shells and getting them a little more comfortable. She always made sure to mention, of course, that she was a Huntress, and asked if they had seen anyone else behaving strangely since the 'wave' had hit. Most shook their heads, and said that, while they still felt strange, no one had done anything too outlandish.

Then Yang would thank them for their time and whatever advice they'd given her. The two would part, and Yang would continue on her way. This contented her for the first few hours, but she quickly found that she was getting tired of it. Every answer she got was one she'd heard before, and after a while, Yang found herself simply standing in the most populated street she could find, arms crossed, doing her best to look imposing.

With Ember Celica on her wrists, she was sure she did the job more than adequately. The gauntlets got more looks than she did, but few people stared long enough to make themselves stand out to her.

She hadn't stood there for more than half an hour before she started to feel restless. She didn't know why, but it became harder and harder to stand still. She tapped her feet, clenched her fists, anything she could think of to try an alleviate the feeling, but nothing worked. With a sigh of frustration, she started to walk again.

She could feel an energy building up, filling every muscle in her body. Normally she enjoyed being more energetic, but with nowhere to put it, it did nothing but burn her patience faster. Every step made her feel more tense, and no matter how hard she pressed her nails into her palms or bit her cheek, the feeling would not go away. She started to walk faster, trying to burn off as much of this excess as she could. Still, it didn't work.

She lost track of where she was, she simply took every turn she came to, hoping that she might find a good loop to walk, that way she could simply continue as long as she needed to. She didn't want to have to turn around.

She started to talk to herself under her breath as well, ranting to herself about the slightest provocation. As she went on and on, she started to hear something other than her own voice. Something that she found incredibly annoying.

"Excuse me-"

Something touched her shoulder, and without thinking, she turned, swatting it away. For a short second, she looked for the source of the annoyance, and found herself face-to-face with one of the people who she'd talked to earlier, a lanky woman with auburn hair. She recoiled, pulling her hand back and stumbling backwards a few steps, saying, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"

Instantly, the energy infecting Yang's body was gone. Her palms stung, and she tasted blood. It took her a moment to come back to her senses, and by the time she had, the woman was turning to leave.

"Wait, stop!" Yang said, making to follow her. "I'm sorry. I'm just. . . I didn't. . ." She shook her head, holding up her hands to show her loss for words. "Just feeling a bit off. What can I do for you?"

Yang did her best to carry on like nothing was the matter, but every response she gave was half-minded at best. The woman was curious if Yang knew one of her friends at Haven Academy, someone Yang had never heard of. When she said as much, the woman nodded understandingly before bidding farewell again, leaving Yang alone again.

She watched the woman walk away, feeling a knot start to form in her stomach. Being on-edge was understandable, and she was glad that the feeling had passed. She felt guilty about frightening the woman. For a moment, she looked as though she thought Yang was really going to hurt her.

She did her best to shake the feeling off as the woman rounded a corner and disappeared. "Deep breaths, deep breaths." she repeated to herself as she pulled her scroll from her pocket and checked the time. It was about time to head back to their hotel, but she could get in another lap around the major streets, making sure that no one was looking to creep around during the night.

* * *

Ruby hummed to herself under her breath as she walked the mostly empty street. Not many people were around the edges of the city, and Ruby couldn't blame them. The place took on a somewhat eerie quality when it was as empty as this, almost like a ghost town, especially in the light of the setting sun. She wasn't alone, however. She could feel eyes on her most of the time, and while she was confident that no one was stalking her, it still felt somewhat unnerving. It always seemed to be from a new direction, from behind drawn blinds or doors just slightly ajar. While being watched by people she couldn't see, it was almost worst when she could see them, because they never let her see them for long, ducking down or hiding behind whatever was between them.

A commotion down an alleyway nearby caught her attention. At first she guessed it was just a rat, or a stray dog, but the flicker of a flame grabbed her attention. She doubted it was a house fire, judging by how gentle the light was, but her curiosity drove her to investigate anyways.

Drawing closer, she could hear a distant whisper down the dark passage. The whisper grew into a murmur, then to hushed speech. A man, probably only a year or two older than her spoke to himself, alone.

"I have done what you asked, what is my first task my master?"

Ruby rounded a small corner to find a man kneeling before a wooden box with a pair of candles burning atop it. His back was bloody from dozens of cuts, a flagrum rested beside him, dripping with gore. Upon the wall and between the two candles was a strange symbol Ruby didn't recognize painted in the man's own blood.

Ruby gasped, covering her mouth. What could make someone want to do something like this? It wasn't as bad as the first man she met, who'd seemed to be trying to kill himself, but the sight of someone so willfully mutilating themselves made her feel just as nauseous as before.

"Have you come to join me and my siren, little girl?" Turning towards her, revealing scabbed scratch marks on his face.

He stood from his place, grabbing his whip, and holding it tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white. He wasn't much taller than Ruby, quite short for a fully grown man. His arms were thin, and much of the clothes he wore looks old and ragged, though much of the rips and tears in it seemed to be recent.

"Would you like to experience pleasure like you've never felt? Or pain so intense that existence itself becomes ecstasy?"

"What?" It was the only response that her brain could process. She heard the words fine, but the question caught her completely off guard, and she didn't know how to respond to something so completely outlandish

He started to repeat himself, but this time Ruby cut him off, asking cautiously, "Do you need a doctor? You might get an infection."

The man just laughed. It was a hard, rasping laugh, enough to double him over, and even make him wipe away a tear. He giggled for a bit more as he straightened back up, while Ruby affirmed that the man was nuts. Finally pulling himself together, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and rolling his joints.

"Oh no, dear girl, I'm perfectly fine. In fact, I haven't felt as _incredible_ ; as _alive_ as I do now. I don't need Haven! My master has opened my eyes to the world as it truly is, and I see just how great existence is. How even the greatest of pains, from the flesh or from the soul, can become sources of such _bliss_."

Ruby could only take a small step back as he continued his monologue. Talking about his life as a Haven dropout, living on the streets. Ruby hoped she could escape without his noticing. Maybe she could get a police officer to take care of the situation. She might have been a Hunter, but she had trained to fight Grimm, not psychopaths. He was creeping her out, and even just being around him made her stomach churn.

Just was she was rounding the corner, though, his head tilted to the side, and he turned to face her again.

"No, wait! You can't leave! Not yet! You still haven't heard my master!"

Something about the way he talked, the way he moved, everything about him, reminded her of Tyrian. With just a moment of hesitation, she reached for Crescent Rose, not drawing it yet but sliding her feet into a solid stance.

"I don't want to hear it. Please, just let me take you to a hospital, or something! You need to get those cuts checked out!"

For just a moment, the man stared at her blankly, uncomprehending. Then he held out a hand to her, beckoning her closer. "You poor thing, come here. Stay with me, and we'll taste the Prince's delights together!"

With the last word, he lunged forward incredibly fast. Before Ruby could even draw Crescent Rose, he was within arm's reach, grabbing a hold of Ruby's wrist and dragging towards his makeshift altar. "Come along, I'll show you what I've found."

She tried to dig her heels into the ground, but she couldn't find any traction. As she drew closer to the altar, she started to feel strange. Pins and needles poked every inch of her body, an electric current seemed to flow through her, and her eyes were drawn to the symbol painted on the wall. It was a symbol of Mars, or at least seemed to be based on one. At the end of the line, it connected to a small crescent moon instead of an arrow, and the line was crossed through by a wider crescent shape, bending around the base circle. It seemed to writhe and dance, moving to some inaudible beat. She felt like she shouldn't be looking at it, but she also found the rhythm entrancing.

As she continued to be dragged, her legs went limp, and the ground rushed up towards her. The man continued to drag her, keeping her from hitting her head, but it broke her vision with the symbol. As soon as it was out of her view, her sense returned to her. She desperately looked around for anything that could help her, but all she could see were the walls, which seemed to be steadily closing in on her. With as much speed as she could muster, she got her feet back under her, and grabbed the man's wrist with both hands. Then, calling on all of her aura she could, she rocketed towards the right wall.

Rose petals erupted as she ascended the wall, then jumped to the opposite side, coming back down to the ground. She kept a tight grip on the man's wrist all the while, and flinched when she heard the man's bones crack sharply and dislocate.

She came to a halt again, yanking her arm out of the man's now far weaker grip. To her surprise, he didn't cry out in pain. Instead, his grin widened, and he held his arms out, one hand dangling limply.

"You make fine company, my little friend, but if you really refuse to listen so much, then you give me no choice!"

He turned and made to grab his whip, but Ruby was quick to draw Crescent Rose once she had the chance. The scythe unfolded, and she placed the blade on the ground, taking aim at the man and tensing her finger on the trigger. As he turned back to her, she pulled the weapon closer.

"Don't come any closer! I don't want to shoot, but you're not giving me a choice!" She said, doing her best to keep her voice firm and hopefully intimidating.

He smiled again, wider this time, and took a single defiant step forwards. "Will you? You don't look like you've got it in you."

She started putting pressure on the trigger as she responded, saying, "You'll be alright. You'll live. You said you were a dropout from Shade, so you've got your aura. The most that'll happen is that you get knocked out."

"Well then-" he said, taking another step, "-what are you waiting for?"

The knot in Ruby's stomach was the clear answer. What if she was wrong? What if she seriously hurt him, or worse, killed him? What was she waiting for?

The man's next step was a wide one, sticking his knee out at an odd angle. His stance, his smile, the entire situation, all of it reminded her of Tyrian. For a moment, she could almost see Tyrian in front of her instead of the miserable, mad, and evidently very masochistic man who was really in front of her. There didn't seem to be all that much different about them, now that she thought about it.

She steeled herself She had hurt people before, all of them wanting to hurt her or her friends. She vowed to put a bullet in Tyrian's head if he tried to hurt someone close to her again, she could handle putting a bullet in this guy's knee. She pulled the trigger.

The kickback from Crescent Rose was always strong, but this shot had an extra weight to it. It still didn't feel right. The knot in her stomach tightened as she watched the bullet crash into his kneecap. Her heart sank as she realized that there was no barrier between the bullet and flesh, and the man's leg collapsed beneath him, blood spattering across the wall and floor behind him. For just a moment, she couldn't hear his screaming over the sharp report. Then, as the ringing faded, she straightened up, holding Crescent Rose limply at her side, staring down at him in horror.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading this far! Remember to follow and fav if you like this story, and be sure to leave a review and give me some feedback!


	3. Chapter 3

Ruby ran back to the street as fast as her legs could carry her, fumbling to sheath Crescent Rose and pull her scroll from her pocket. Her back hit the wall leading into the alleyway hard as she got back to the street, dropping Crescent Rose on accident but simply leaving it there. She used both shaking hands to gain some control over her scroll, and brought up Yang's contact.

She could barely hold the phone to her face, but when she heard Yang pick up, she started stammering as best she could, trying to get across what had happened.

"Y-Yang! I t-think you n-need. . ." she took a long, shaking breath. As she did so, she heard Yang trying to respond.

"Ruby, what's going on? Do you need help? Where are you?"

Ruby started to answer, but the words caught in her throat, and she started to choke, Yang kept talking.

"Don't worry, I'll get everyone over to you as soon as possible! Just hang on, alright? Everything will be okay!"

Yang didn't hang up, though. Ruby heard her distantly tapping buttons before she saw a few more portraits appear in the call. She couldn't quite speak yet, she clutched the scroll close to her chest. Blake's portrait was the first to light up, followed by Blake's voice asking "Yang, what-" Yang cut her off, nearly shouting "Ruby called me, she's in trouble! Get back here, _now!_ And don't hang up! _"_

"I'm on my way!" came Blake's response, and she could be heard rushing through the streets, pushing her way through crowds. Ruby closed her eyes, evening her breath and trying her best to calm down. It took several seconds, but she managed to pull herself together enough to take note of where she was.

She opened her mouth, but just before she spoke, Weiss's portrait lit up, and the girl's voice came through. "What's going on?"

"Ruby's in trouble, get back _ASAP,_ got that?"

Weiss said "I'm almost there already, just a minute out."

Ruby managed to stand after a few minutes. Everyone would call out where they were periodically, their locations slowly converging on their leader. Ruby herself had recovered enough from the shock to start walking with slow but deliberate steps back towards the mouth of the alleyway. She wasn't going in there alone. Not again. In the distance she could hear a steady groaning echo off the walls into her ears. The churning in her stomach returned, and she took a step away to distance herself a little more from the sound.

It wasn't much longer before she could see Yang coming down the street, running as fast as she could. Ruby waved her arms, flagging Yang down, Weiss and Blake not far behind. As Yang approached, Ruby wiped her face of tears and sweat, reaching out for her. Yang embraced her sister, holding her tightly.

"Thank God you're alright! What happened? You sounded so upset, you think you're alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Ruby shook her head, pointing to the alleyway. "No, I'm fine. It's just that. . . down there. . ."

Yang looked down the alley, before holding Ruby at an arm's length and saying, "It's alright now, okay? We're here. We can handle anything together, right?" She picked Crescent Rose off the ground and handed it gently to Ruby. "Stay behind me, okay? Just cover me, and we'll go in there together."

Ruby nodded mutely, then hefted the scythe up. Yang looked to Weiss and Blake, motioning for them to form the sides of their formation. They did so, drawing their weapons, and Yang spoke again as they got ready at the mouth of the alley. "Alright, everybody ready?" She received nods all around, and turned back to the alley. "Good. Let's find out what spooked Ruby."

After the first step forward, a heavy wheezing started to emanate from deeper inside. The wheezing slowly became more distinguishable as rough laughter, and was accompanied by a heavy dragging sound. From around the corner, a hand slowly emerged, wiping a bloody smear along the ground. The man Ruby had shot dragged himself out into view, grimacing and spitting dirt and mucus as he laughed. Yang felt her eyes widen as he pulled himself into full view.

Yang couldn't help but gasp when she saw the remains of his lower left leg. It looked like it was being held on to his thigh with a few thick meaty strands, strained to their furthest keeping the leg trailing a few inches behind. Blood leaked slowly but steadily from the wound, leaving a trail behind him as he went. When he looked up and saw the team assembled before him, his laughter grew even harder for a moment, before he brushed a few tears out of his eyes and said, "Oh, good, she brought more. Wouldn't want to be jumped by a cripple, would you, girl?"

He looked at Ruby as he spoke, but each member of team RWBY felt like there was something intrusive about his gaze, giving each a feeling of being somehow violated. Ruby felt a flare of anger blaze up in her heart, and she stepped forward, saying, "What is wrong with you? Why are you just trying to mess with me? If you're trying to tell me something, I don't get it!"

He cocked his head, like he was confused. "Well of course you don't 'get it,' you haven't listened! Go back to my altar, and listen! Not just with your ears, but with every sense. Open yourself, and my master will fill you with new sound!"

Ruby clapped her hands over her ears, closed her eyes, and shouted, "Shut up! Whatever you mean, I don't care! Just stop talking!"

She only opened her eyes when Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back behind her.

"Don't listen to him, Yang! Whatever he says, don't listen to it!"

Yang set her jaw, and took her hand off her sister, saying, "Don't worry, I won't."

She walked over to the man, balling her fists as she went. When she stood over him, towering, he traced her figure with his eyes until he reached her face. He didn't say anything, but his gaze held an air of smug supremacy. Yang felt her eye twitch.

"What did you do to my sister?"

The man's only response was an awkward shrug, before he raised an eyebrow, saying, "Sisters, you say? I think I might like-"

Yang bent over, grabbing two handfuls of the man's shirt and lifting him off the ground. The air was knocked out of his lungs as Yang slammed him against the wall, and pressing her arm against his throat. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence." She hissed through her teeth at him, putting a little bit more pressure on his windpipe. "Now, start talking."

Choked laughter was especially grating coming from someone like this. Just as Yang was about to put more weight on his throat, he started to speak again, the corners of his mouth still twisted in a manic grin.

"One as brutish as you wouldn't understand. You couldn't. It isn't your fault, I suppose, but you should know when you're outdone. You're like a bull, charging down a bullfighter. It doesn't know why it charges, and it can't possibly know the bliss the bullfighter feels as he captivates his audience. It doesn't even realize it's a mere plaything."

Yang glanced down at Ember Celica, making sure that its ammo count was full. It was, and she pulled a fist back, her eyes practically burning a hole in the man's face. "Then why don't you give me a good reason not to splatter you all over the wall?"

He leaned his head back, hitting it against the wall behind him as he giggled to himself, before leaning forward again, and whispering directly into her ear, "Because you know I'll enjoy it."

His nose cracked as her knuckles smacked his head back into the wall, and his body went limp. Weiss was quick to move forward, trying to pull Yang off the man.

"Yang, stop! You might do some serious damage to him!"

Yang resisted for a moment, before letting herself be pulled away. The man fell to the ground, limp and seemingly lifeless. He was still breathing, though, despite how much she wanted to make it otherwise. What kind of sick freak took so much pleasure from screwing with someone like Ruby; someone small and relatively harmless, someone who didn't have a fiber of malicious intent in their being? Ruby had been kind enough to not put him down, but he more than deserved it.

Yang was snapped back to reality when Weiss said "Come on, we need to get this guy to a hospital too. Maybe you think we shouldn't, but that's not what a Hunter does. We don't do the choosing, leave that to the police, or whoever he winds up with."

Yang looked back at Ruby, who was still glaring down at the man cautiously, watching to make sure he didn't move. She looked up at Yang, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"He didn't. . . like. . . do anything to you, right? I mean, some creep like this, it seems like he might, you know. . ." her voice trailed off awkwardly as she looked her sister over carefully for any signs of abuse.

Ruby shook her head, some of the color draining from her face. "No, he didn't try anything like that. He just kept going on about his 'master' and how he could share the feeling he had." Her eyes drifted to his leg, and she flinched, turning away. "He was attacking me, but I don't know what for. There was an altar, and a symbol." She thought for a moment about what she'd seen, and how she'd felt. The more she thought about it, it hadn't been unpleasant, but the intensity of the situation had buried that. "Just don't go back there. He'd probably try to get you back there anyways, to look at his little display. Don't give him that success."

She faced towards the mouth of the alleyway, looking away, and despite her level voice, Weiss and Blake could see how unsettled she was. Blake was the first one to step forward, saying, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Ruby nodded, saying, "Yes, I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

Blake took Ruby aside, back out onto the street and just out of earshot of the others. "Ruby, you're shaken up from shooting that man. Believe me, if there's anyone who understands that, it's me. You can open up about it."

Ruby swallowed hard, then shook her head. "I've never really hurt a person like that before, you know? I mean, Grimm are one thing, and fighting people like Torchwick or Tyrian is another, but this time something was different. There wasn't anything else going on. It was just me and him. And I know that I did what I had to, but it was awful! His aura didn't protect him at all, and he knew it, but I shot him anyways!" Her voice gained some volume as she exclaimed the last part, and she quieted back down, blushing slightly. "I just wish I had done something different, you know? What if there was a way to calm him down, or get out of there without hurting him, or-"

She stopped when Blake put a hand on her shoulder. "You want my advice?" the older girl asked. Ruby nodded, and Blake continued. "I know I don't talk about it much, but when I was in the White Fang, I did some bad stuff too. I was really beating myself up over it, but I had to realize that what's done is done. There's nothing I could do to change that. You did what anyone in your position would have done, and you're both still alive, aren't you? This probably turned out better than you think. I don't know that I would have kept things together as well as you did if I was in your shoes."

Ruby wiped a sleeve a cross her face, and said, "You really think so? I mean, he stopped, he was challenging me, he was saying that I didn't have it in me to shoot him. Would it be better if he was right?"

Blake's grip on Ruby's shoulder tightened, and she shook Ruby a bit as she leaned forward, saying, "No, don't doubt yourself! If you do that, you're letting him win. He's was just trying to get in your head. Don't let him have that."

A small, unsteady smile came across Ruby's face, and she nodded again. "Yeah, alright. I'll try. We should get him to a hospital or something, then."

Blake nodded, and both turned back to the alleyway, finding Yang and Weiss already in the process of pulling together another makeshift stretcher for the man. Still, Ruby tried not to look at his leg, but she didn't feel quite as sick now. Picking him up and carrying him back towards the the middle of the city was a quick affair, all the while the others seemed to be treating Ruby with special care, keeping her ahead of the stretcher and from looking back at it. She could appreciate the effort, but she tried to keep looking back at him every now and again, half to make sure he was still unconscious, and half to try and show the others that she wasn't going out of her way to avoid it.

* * *

By the time they got back to their hotel, Weiss was ready to collapse into her bed and fall asleep. She resisted the urge, however, and began her ritual for winding down the evening. She took a shower, brushed her teeth, the whole time going over the events of the day in her head. Spending the day in the upper-class areas of Mistral had seemed like the natural option for her. She had the most understanding of the neurosis and idiosyncrasies of the upper class, and it was somewhat amusing to find out just how many were shared between those classes in Atlas and those in Mistral. Assuring those people was surprisingly tiring, yet she couldn't complain about her day. Ruby's had evidently been far worse.

She had been hesitant to give exact details, but after some prodding, the team had been able to get a rough idea of what she'd been doing when she found her second maniac for the day. Ruby insisted that she was fine, but Weiss wasn't so sure. She was just a bit quieter than usual as they had settled back into their rooms, ever so slightly less obnoxious. She couldn't help but worry.

At least she hadn't been injured. With as much trouble as Ruby could get into while on her own, the fact that she managed to end the day without much more than some scrapes was nothing short of a miracle. Still, she wasn't so sure Ruby was as well as she was making it seem.

It wasn't just Ruby who was acting somewhat strangely, either. Yang had been on-edge all day, something that was probably more excusable, considering the circumstances, but it wasn't like Yang to keep balled up about it. Normally she would have talked, asked if the others felt similarly. Of course, Weiss's answer would be yes. How could someone not be a little worried after what'd happened?

She found herself staring into her mirror, hoping the girl on the other side would have some sort of useful input, but she just stared back, like she was asking for answers too.

"Well don't look at me, I don't know either." She glared at the reflection for a few more seconds before realizing how ridiculous she was acting, and rolling her eyes as she moved to keep brushing her hair.

A voice from the door made her jump.

"Careful, I think Ruby might be rubbing off on you."

Blake leaned against the doorframe, grinning as Weiss started to blush and stood. "Talking to yourself is perfectly normal! Everyone does it, when they think there's no one eavesdropping." The second half of the sentence sounded more accusatory than she'd meant it to be, and after a short second of silence between them, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, you just startled me."

Blake waved the concern off, walking into the room and taking a seat on her bed. "No need to apologize, I should've said something. But I think there is something else we should be talking about, don't you?"

"Ruby? Yes, I think she's hiding how much those freaks got to her. I can understand trying to appear strong to keep the team together, but if she's under too much stress, she could snap. I know it's only been a day, but if she keeps doing what she did today, I think we might have to intervene."

Blake nodded, saying, "Not just Ruby, but Yang too. You saw how aggressive she was today. Though, I think that was warranted, considering that we didn't know what was going on. Just, like you said with Ruby, something I think we need to keep an eye on in the future."

Weiss nodded, and the two sat in silence for a few more seconds, thinking to themselves. Neither one wanted to contemplate Ruby or Yang winding up like the two insane people they'd found, but neither could see the sisters turning out like that in any way. They were sound minded, and while both could get carried away with things in their own ways, neither of the sisters had ever shown a tendency to lose control.

They looked at each other again, and Blake asked, "You haven't been feeling strange, have you? You haven't been acting any differently than you usually do, or at least that I've noticed."

Weiss shook her head, then said, "No, I've been feeling. . . well, not 'normal,' I suppose, but I don't think anyone does. I haven't felt like not myself, if you know what I mean. I don't think that I've been affected like Yang, and I can't see any other way I might have been."

Blake said, "Like I said, you haven't been acting any different than usual. What about me? Have you noticed anything off about my behavior?"

"No, nothing big, anyways. Maybe telling Ruby about your past was a little bit strange, you've never opened up about it, and you always got sort of hostile when we tried to pry, but I think it was entirely justified in this case."

Blake sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know if I should have brought that stuff up. I mean, I know that it helped her, but it's been stirring up some bad memories. Stuff I've been trying to forget for a long time. Now I just feel like I can't get that stuff out of my head. Do you think I should have just kept it to myself? It's not messing with my behavior, I know, but still, maybe it would be best to just let bygones be bygones."

She leaned back on the bed, putting her hands over her face. Weiss looked at the faunus for a few seconds, trying to think of what she could say to try and comfort her friend.

"Well, maybe it's good that things like this are coming back up. Having skeletons in your closet is never good. Are these the kinds of things that you think we could help you settle? You know all of us would be willing to help you. We could even call JNPR if need be. As long as they're not busy already, that is."

Blake hesitated before sitting back up and closing her eyes. "I don't know. The White Fang is better than it was when Beacon fell all those years ago, but the divide between the radicals and the moderates is still a strong one. My father is still doing everything he can to get people to stop following Adam, but he already had such high numbers, and he still keeps getting recruits. He's been worried that Adam might splinter off and form a new group entirely! Not that it'd be much different than what he's got going now. He's twisted the spirit of what the White Fang was supposed to be so much, I can't even recognize it anymore!"

Her breath came sharply as she looked back at Weiss, expecting to find her looking back. Instead, she had turned back to her mirror, tugging on her ponytail with a distant look in her eyes. "Weiss? Are you alright?"

With a jerk, Weiss shook her head, and came out of her daze. "Sorry, I was just thinking. . ."

Blake raised an eyebrow, and moved over to the side of the bed. "About what?"

Weiss's eyes flicked over to Blake's reflection, and suddenly she seemed on edge. "Blake, can you promise to not tell anyone about this? And I mean anyone, not even Ruby or Yang."

Blake nodded, and Weiss took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about that kind of stuff too. My father stole the Schnee name right out from under me, and cut all my ties. I don't mind losing the things, don't get me wrong, the belongings weren't important, but the fact that my own father would be willing to go so far to try and ruin my life just boils my blood to this day! He just wants me to be an obedient little-" she cut herself off, taking another deep breath before refocusing. "Anyways, my point is, I think we could both use a little help in dealing with our problems. My father might be using the Schnee name to make a profit, but I've got no intention of letting him run the family name into the dirt any more than he already has. It used to mean something important, and I'm going to make it mean something again. But I know he'd never give me an inch without some kind of reason. So I'm thinking. . ." her voice trailed off again, and she shook her head. "Nevermind. I shouldn't be talking about this. We shouldn't be talking about this."

She stood up abruptly, knocking her chair down, then turned back to Blake. "I'm sorry, I think you should leave!"

Blake stood and started to reach out to Weiss, but she recoiled, then opened the door. "Blake, please, just get out!"

Blake tried to ask what was the matter, but before she was even able to get a word out, Weiss was shutting the door behind her. She stared at the door for a moment, stunned, before she felt a slow dread starting to sink in. Weiss clearly wasn't as unaffected as she'd seemed. Still, it did seem that she had at least been going somewhere with her thoughts before she stopped.

Blake wished she could've heard the rest of what she was going to say. It sounded almost like Weiss was already making a plan to try and get back at her father. If she could help with that, she wanted to. There were few people deserving of whatever the two of them could cook up than Jacques Schnee.

But the door was closed, and Blake doubted that Weiss would let her back in. As she turned to return to her own room, a hand grabbed a hold of her wrist. Weiss was leaning out of the door, open just enough to let her shoulder through. For what felt like an unnaturally long second, the two stared mutely at each other, trying to read the other's expression. Weiss looked anxious and more jittery than only a few moments ago.

Blake had to lean forward to hear her next words, hanging onto every syllable.

"We can talk more about this tomorrow. I think I'll need you, but don't let on to anybody."

From closeby the sound of a doorknob turning made Weiss flinch, and she pulled Blake closer, whispering directly in her ear:

"I think I have a plan."

The door shut again, and Weiss put her back to the door, sliding down it quietly. Her heart was pounding, her palms were clammy with sweat, but the night wasn't over yet.

Mustering as much of herself as she could, she took a seat at the mirror again.

"This is insane. I must be going crazy."

She put her head in her hands, trying to calm the storm of thoughts twisting around her head. When she looked back up, she found her reflection giving her a coy smile.

"It's hardly the craziest thing you've ever thought up. I think I could help with that . . ."

* * *

Author's Note:

As with most things, thanks to Leivve for helping with this.

If you like what you're reading, remember to leave a review and tell me what you think!


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